Shinigami Athletes Festival
by xNaraku No Hanax21
Summary: It's the Seireitei's first annual sports festival, hosted by the Shinigami Women Assocaition! But instead of a sports festival, it seems more like the Olympics? This includes archery, fencing, swimming, running... and karaoke?
1. Let the Festival Begin!

Hitsugaya: Oi, why do you always put a smiley face at the end of your sentence?

Ayane: Cause I want to... *glares* ...got a problem with that?

Hitsugaya: N-No...

Saaya: Ahaha... *wipes forehead with a sweatdrop* Well then, let's start and give the readers a good time to enjoy our first fanfiction.

Ayane & Saaya: *smiles* xNaraku no Hanax21 does not own Bleach, all rights reserved to Tite Kubo! ^-^

Hitsugaya: xNa-xNaraku no Hanax21 d-does not own Bleach... *shivers*

* * *

"YOSH! THE SHINIGAMI ATHLETES FESTIVAL SHALL BEGIN!" the shinigami yelled over the announcement.

"YEA!" the crowd responded with enthusiasm, pumping their fist in the air.

"TCH! How did I get dragged into this?" Hitsugaya grumbled under his breath.

"Eh? Did you forget Taichou? Well I'll retell what happened to you Taichou! Maybe then you'll remember!" Matsumoto replied.

"I'll pass," Hitsugaya said, but was ignored.

"Well let me remember... it all started when I was in your office doing what I usually do, Taichou," Matsumoto said with a detective thinking pose glint.

Let's roll back to a few hours ago... wooo~

It was another ordinary day in the Soul Society. Squad captains and lieutenants are at their work, shinigami's going on their missions and errands, and there's also the daily yelling that goes on at Squad 10.

"MATSUMOTO!"

That was the yell of a furious captain yelling at his lieutenant.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO GET THESE REPORTS FINISHED BY THE TIME I GET BACK AND WHAT DO I SEE! BLANK AND UNTOUCHED REPORT PAPERS AND YOU SLEEPING ON THE COUCH!" the short captain screamed.

"But I was tired and I was thinking, why not take a nap for a while and get my strength up so I can stay awake to write my reports," said the female lieutenant with a happy expression on her face.

"You slept for six hours...," the annoyed captain replied. He was trying to stay calm and not burst out yelling and disturb his subordinates with his yelling, again.

"EH? I did?" she said with a shocked expression. She looked up at the clock to check if she did over sleep.

"Well there's no helping it, I guess I'll have to do these reports tomorrow," sighed the lieutenant.

A vein popped on his forehead. "MATSUMOTO!"

"GYAAAAAAAA!"

Yup, this is your ordinary yelling that goes on between the captain and lieutenant of Squad 10. The short, strict, white haired boy yelling is none other than Hitsugaya Toushiro, the captain of Squad 10. The lazy female is also none other than Matsumoto Rangiku, the Squad 10 lieutenant. Hitsugaya is always yelling at Matsumoto because of her lack of attention to her work and always focusing her attention on either sleeping or sake.

"Demo, Taichou, if you would at least give me a break, I would have gladly done my work on time," she said with a pout on her face.

"Like I would," grumbled Hitsugaya, rolling his eyes.

"Eehh you're so stubborn," Matsumoto said.

"At least I'm stubborn enough to get my work done unlike a certain someone...," he replied.

"AH! That's mean, Taichou!" she pouted.

All of a sudden, a hell butterfly flew through the open window. Matsumoto held up her hand to the little messenger as it landed on it. When it landed, Matsumoto started announcing the message aloud.

"'Matsumoto-fukutaichou, you are to report to the world of the living for a hollow extermination,'" she said. "The location is Karakura Town. The Senkaimon shall be opened for your use when you arrive."

After the last part of the message was said, the hell butterfly left.

"Well!~ Looks like I'm heading off to the World of The Living, Taichou! It's a shame that I won't be able to finish my paperwork in time," she said sarcastically.

"Oh, don't worry," Hitsugaya said while a vein appeared on his head. "I'll make sure to save all this paperwork, then when you get back, you can finish where you left off." An evil smirk appeared on his face.

"EEEHHH?" she cried out.

As Matsumoto left her captain's office in disappointment she thought, _Heeeh~ Taichou is so mean_, as she headed off to the Senkaimon.

When she arrived, a hell butterfly was already there to guide her to the World of The Living. As the hell butterfly flew by her side, she entered the Senkaimon and walked through the doors as they closed behind her. After she arrived she shunpoed her way towards the hollow's location...that is...until she thought, _Hmmm... I might as well visit my old friends while I'm here. After all I haven't seen them in a while._

So she shunpoed from her current direction towards the direction of Karakura High School. When she arrived, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

_What are they doing down there?_ she thought.

Unbeknownst to her, the student at Karakura High, were having a sports festival. Matsumoto had thought that there must be some big event going on, so she decided to ask somebody about it and tried looking for the one and only, orange-haired substitute shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo. As she was looking around she spotted her best friend, Inoue Orihime, playing some sort of game with the petit black-haired shinigami, Kuchiki Rukia, that involved some sort of stick with a net attached to it and they were whacking a ball back and forth over a large net. She had also spotted Ishida Uryu and Yasutora Sado, -also known as Chad- playing some other game unbeknownst to her that seemed like they were kicking around a ball and were trying to aim it in some other large net. Then finally, she spotted who she was looking for. Ichigo was located at some diamond-shaped field holding a metal stick.

Matsumoto decided to stop by there and ask about what they were doing, so she shunpoed towards his direction.

Meanwhile at Ichigo's side, he was about ready to whack the ball out of the field. He was playing baseball, and he was getting pumped up about this hit.

"Yosh... If I hit this, then I'll win," he thought with joy.

As the pitcher threw the ball, Ichigo was just about ready to swing until...

"OHAYO, ICHIGO!" Matsumoto said happily, as she shunpoed right in front of him.

"R-RANGIKU-SAN!" he said with panic.

Then suddenly, Matsumoto sensed the ball coming from the behind and dodged away to her right. But unfortunately for Ichigo...the ball stuck him right in the middle of his face and he was sent flying back from the force.

"GYAAAAAAA!" he screamed as he flew.

"GYAAA! KUROSAKI ICHIGO!" the players yelled, chasing after him.

His friends then suddenly heard a familiar scream coming from the baseball field. As they rushed over to see what the noise, when they arrived, they saw Ichigo lying on his back with a circular red mark planted on the middle of his face.

"Ku-Kurosaki-kun! Are you all right?" Orihime asked worriedly.

"Y-Yea I-I'm fine," he replied while trying to get up.

"Eh? Why didn't you dodge the ball, Ichigo?" Matsumoto said as everyone stared at where the voice came from.

"Rangiku-san! Ohayo!" Orihime greeted happily.

"Ohayo, Orihime-chan!" Matsumoto greeted back with the same joy.

"Just what in the world are you doing here for?" asked Ishida.

"Weeelll~ I was on my way to exterminate a hollow until I decided to stop by and pay a surprise visit to my friends!" she answered.

"Than aren't you suppose to go look for the hollow?" Chad said.

"Ah don't worry about it," she said. "I'll go look for it later, but what I'm wondering is, what's going on here?"

The group first led her to the side of the school to speak, so as to not draw attention to them, then told her about the event they were having, called a sports festival. Rukia said that she didn't even know what a sports festival was until Ichigo explained it to her. She said that it was an event held in schools where the students get to partake in a variety of different sports against one another. After a few more explanations from each of her friends, Matsumoto finally understood the situation.

"Hehh... This sounds interesting," she said excitedly.

Then suddenly, Matsumoto thought of a brilliant idea.

_THATS IT!_ she thought. T_HIS IS THE EVENT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR! WE COULD DO THIS SPORTS FESTIVAL EVENT IN THE SOUL SOCIETY! But instead of calling it a sports festival, I'll call it 'The Shinigami Athletes Festival!'_ Her eyes started to sparkle about her joyous idea.

"U-Um, Matsumoto-fukutaichou, aren't you going to go destroy the hollow?" Rukia asked, intervening with her thoughts.

"Later, later, but first, I WANT YOU GUYS TO COME BY THE SOUL SOCIETY THE DAY AFTER NEXT WEEK!" Matsumoto said, pointing her finger to the group.

"W-Why? And why all of a sudden?" Ichigo asked.

"Hoho~ you'll see when you get there," she smiled. "Now I gotta get back to the Soul Society to prepare."

"Wait, what about the hollow?" Ishida yelled.

"Well, I sense a spiritual power coming this way, so I'll let you guys handle it instead!" she yelled back with a smile on her face.

"See ya." And with that, she winked and shunpoed away.

"WAIT WHY DO WE HAVE TO HANDLE THE HOLLOW?" Ichigo yelled, but Matsumoto was already gone.

Meanwhile...

"Hey! Where are Ichigo and the others?" Keigo asked his friend, Mizuiro.

"I saw them going towards the side of the school," Mizuiro replied

"WHAT? AND WITHOUT INVITING ME? THAT IS SO UNFAIR! THEY MUST BE HAVING SOME SECRET MEETING FOR THEIR SECRET CLUB OR SOMETHING AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN INVITE ME TO JOIN!" Keigo yelled as he cried on the ground.

"Maybe because of the way you always make a big deal about stuff," Mizuiro answered with a sweatdrop as he took pity at his pathetic friend.

* * *

Back in the Soul Society at the Shingami Womens Association...

"You want to hold a sports festival?" questioned Ise Nanao, the Eighth Division's lieutenant, the vice-president of the Shinigami Womens Association.

"Yup! I saw a school holding this event and I was thinking that we should hold it in the Soul Society as well." Matsumoto said.

"But what about you're proposals for a fashion show and a movie awards?" Nanao asked sternly.

"Ooooh, we'll do those later, but right now I want to hold the sports festival first! Please!" Matsumoto pleaded as she tired making the most innocent puppy face she could possibly make to persuade the vice-president.

Nanao sighed. "Well, if the president thinks its a good idea," she turned around to face the president of the association which is none other than the Eleventh Division's lieutenant, Kusajishi Yachiru.

"I THINK ITS A GREAT IDEA! AFTER ALL, THIS PLACE DOES NEED TO LIVEN UP A BIT!" Yachiru said cheerfully as she stood from her seat.

Nanao sighed a bit as she pushed back up her glasses. "If the president thinks its a good idea, then we shall hold a sports festival in the Soul Society."

"WOOHOO! THEN LETS START GETTING READY!" Matsumoto said joyously as she stood up from her seat and pumped her fist in the air.

"But wait a minute!"Nanao yelled as she interrupted Matsumoto's little 'victory'."We still need to get permission from the Head Captain to hold the festival in the Soul Society, and plus we would have to finish up a large amount of paperwork as well," there was a hint of 'Hitsugaya's' tone to her sentence.

"OH, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!" Yachiru said enthusiastically. "I'll take care of Gramps, you guys just get the paperwork finished and start decorating and sending out the invitations!"

"W-Well if you say so president," Nanao said, unsure of the president's statement just now.

"ALRIGHT! THEN LET'S START THE PREPARATIONS!" Matsumoto said.

"And so, the Shingami Womens Association started preparing for the Soul Society's first annual sports festival," Matsumoto concluded, as she happily held the last page of the picture book.

"Oi, there's no need for a picture book," Hitsugaya commented dully.

"But Rukia-chan gave it to me! Here, look at these adorable bunnies!" She pointed to the bunny drawing which has pink hair, raising her hand in the air. Next to the pink haired bunny was a bunny with wavy orange hair, raising its hand as well. In the back of the pink haired bunny was another rabbit with glasses with a glint next to it.

"...As always, Kuchiki has crappy drawings," the paper-white haired kid commented dully, again.

"Taichou, Rukia-chan gave me this just for you! And you're not appreciating it? Man, kids these days sure are disrespec-"

Hitsugaya sent her an icy stare, with a demonic aura, as Matsumoto froze in her place and sweated badly.

"Matsumoto, I dare you to say that again."

"Sorry sir, please forgive me, sir."

* * *

**Behind the Scenes!**

"Hey, Gramps!" Yachiru chirped as she bounced in front of the old man.

"Hmm..? What is it, Kusajishi-fukutaichou?" Yamamoto asked, as he stared down at the pink child. Her face was broken into a grin as always.

"The Shinigami Women Association wanna do a sports festival! Can we? Can we, Gramps?"

Yamamoto stroke his chin for a while, while gazing at the ceiling. "Hmm... A sports festival, eh? But, as shinigamis, we are getting our exercise everyday..."

"Even old people like you can join, Gramps!" A hammer hit Yamamoto's head, and his eyes slightly widened.

"I grant you permission to do this 'sports festival.'"

"YAY! Thanks Gramps, you're the best!" And with that, Yachiru happily bounced away.

Smiling and nodding, Yamamoto stood still. _Alas, _he thought, _an event where I can finally participate, and not stand by the side grieving about my own age!_

* * *

Ayane: Please leave reviews for us to help improve this fanfiction!

Saaya: We'll be busy with school, so we will update whenever we have time, and we will do our best to write(Ayane-san) and edit(me).

Ayane & Saaya: Thanks for reading this!


	2. Track and Shunpo Competition

Ayane-san: Really sorry for the late chapter! Got lazy and side-tracked, but overall, chapter 2 is up and running!

Ichigo: Che, you slack off too much!

*WHACK!*

Saaya: *winces* Ooh! That gotta hurt!

Ayane-san: Please enjoy the chapter!

* * *

"ALL RIGHT EVERYONE!" said Yachiru yelled over the mic "LETS GET THIS COMPETITION STARTED!"

"Heh, this is competition is gonna be a piece of cake," Ichigo said.

"Oy, don't get too full of yourself Ichigo," said Abarai Renji, the Sixth Squad's lieutenant. "Don't think that you're gonna be the one to win 'cause the person who's going to when this competition is me," he said proudly with a smirk.

"CHE! Now who's the one being full of himself?" Ichigo said sarcastically.

"Well at least I'm stating the FACTS!" Renji said in his face.

"What? You wanna go right now you bastard?" Ichigo said, clearly pissed off.

"BRING IT ON YOU STRAWBERRY!" roared Renji as the two both grabbed their zanpakutou's until...

"ENOUGH THE BOTH OF YOU!" someone yelled. As the two quickly stopped their actions at the sound of the voice, they turned around to where the voice came from and saw that the person standing before them was none other than Kuchiki Rukia.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU TWO IDIOTS THINK YOU'RE DOING? DON'T TRY TO START A FIGHT HERE YOU MORONS!EVERYONE CAME HERE TO ENJOY THIS EVENT, NOT DIE FROM A BATTLE BETWEEN

TWO IDIOTS!" Rukia scolded.

"Y-Yes ma'am," they both said, shaking from the sudden outburst and scolding from Rukia. Suddenly, the announcements came on to announce what the first competition is.

"Attention everyone, we shall announce the first competition of the Seireitei's sports festival" said the voice, which was Nanao's. "The first competition that shall be the Track and Shunpo competition. All participants please report to the stadium immediately." And she turned off the announcer.

"Ah! That would be me," Ichigo said.

"You're in the track and shunpo competition?" asked Renji.

"Yea, remember, we chose who's going to do what for each team, and I chose track since I'm good at running and shunpo," Ichigo said.

"By the way, what's the name of your team anyway?" asked Renji.

Ichigo as he froze in his place, looking away.

"Well...as for the name...its...team Strawberry," Ichigo said embarrassingly, his head lowered in shame.

Renji blinked, before realizing what he had just said. He bursted into a hysterical laugh. "GAHAHAHAHAH! TEAM STRAWBERRY? THAT REALLY SUITS YOUR TEAM'S TASTE!"

A vein popped on Ichigo's head. "SHUT THE HELL UP YOU DAMN PINEAPPLE!"

Then Renji snapped.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLIN' A PINAPPLE YOU DUMBASS?" Renji screamed.

"YOU WANNA FIGHT?" Ichigo hollered back.

"BRING IT ON CARROT TOP!"

"I SAID ENOUGH ALREADY!" Rukia shouted again. "ICHIGO JUST GET TO STADIUM ALREADY! AND RENJI, STOP TRYING TO PICK FIGHTS WITH EVERYONE!"

"WHAT?BUT HE STARTED IT FIR-Geh!" he said, until he was interupted by Rukia's deadly glare at him.

"I-I'll shut up now..." he stammered

"Good then, now let's go, we have get ready for our competitions. Ichigo you better hurry or you'll be late." she said calmly.

"Alright," Ichigo said as he ran towards the stadium.

* * *

At the stadium...

Ichigo was running towards the starting line until he heard a familiar voice.

"Yo, Ichigo" a voice called next to him, as he stopped and turned towards the direction of the voice. There he saw Shihoin Yoruichi standing in front of him in a track and field uniform with the name of her team on it.

"Y-Yoruichi-san? You're in the race too?" he asked, shocked that Yoruichi would be participating as well.

"Yea, why? Do you have a problem with that, Ichigo?" she asked, smirking a bit.

"NO! I just didn't expect that you would be here, that's all," he said.

"Well then let's get one thing straight Ichigo, I'm not going to go easy on you and you better re-think your victory plans while you still can." Yoruichi said as she shunpoed past Ichigo to the starting line.

Ichigo gulped. Then he mumbled, "I sure hope I can when this..."

"Don't think that you're going to out run me, Kurosaki Ichigo." a low, serious tone said from behind.

"GAAAA!" Ichigo screamed as he turned around quickly to see the Sixth Divisions captain, Kuchiki Byakuya, also Rukia' older brother.

"B-Byakuya! Don't sneak up on me like that!" he yelled.

"You couldn't even sense me coming. How pathetic," Byakuya replied.

"S-SHUT UP! YOU JUST CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD THATS ALL!" he yelled.

"Stop making such a ruckus and get to your place already so I can beat you and win," he said as he shunpoed off to the starting line thinking, "This competition shall surely raise the Kuchiki Clan's reputation..."

"What's his problem?" Ichigo thought. "Well I better get to my place before the race starts," he thought and shunpoed off to the starting line of the race.

There, he saw the other participants besides Yoruichi and Byakuya. He saw Soi Fon, the Second Divison's captain, Hitsugaya Toshiro, Kira Izuru, and even... Hanatarou? Well he wouldn't try wondering the reason why he's participating. Then when everyone got to their places Nanao came out with a pistol in her hand.

"Greetings, everyone. I'm Ise Nanao of the Shinigami Women Association. First, we'll start off with introductions. We have Matsumoto Rangiku-san, Kusajishi Yachiru-san, and Kurotsuchi Nemu-san. Please take note that we'll be participating from time to time as well. Now let's go over the rules. For this competition, there are three laps in the race," she explained. "In the first round, everyone must run normally, that means you can't use shunpo, and then in the second and third lap, you may use your shunpo. Is that clear?" she asked, pushing up her glasses.

''Understood," they replied.

"Then, is everyone ready?" she asked

"Ready!" they answered.

"Then...on your mark..." she raised her arm in the air with pistol in her hand and got ready to fire, "Get set...GO!"

And pressed the trigger and a loud 'bang' sounded. Everyone ran like there was no tomorrow once the gun sounded.

"T-This... is... is... no sweat... at all..." Ichigo panted.

"Heh, don't start thinking this is going to be easy Ichigo," said Yoruichi right beside him.

"Y-Yoruichi-san!"

"Theres still the next two laps to go so you better prepare yourself," she said and then ran right past him.

Once they passed the starting line, the shunpo part of the race started. Immediatly, Ichigo used his shunpo and moved swiftly across the field. As for Hanatarou...he was panting behind, not even a few inches from the starting line.

"P-Please wait!" Hanatarou said panting.

"Why is Hanatarou even in the race?" Ichigo thought with a sweatdrop.

"Oy Ichigo, try paying attention to where you're running," a manly voice said.

"Ah, thanks!" he said with a thank-you-very-much-sir grin. Then it hit him. "Eh?" Ichigo looked beside him to see... Yoruichi's cat form. "You turned into a cat?" he yelled

"Well anything can go in this race Ichigo." she said as she shunpoed passed him.

"Oh, no, you don't!" he shouted as he shunpoed even faster. Then suddenly, Byakuya passed Ichigo with a swift use of his shunpo.

"B-Byakuya?" Ichigo said.

"Fool," Byakuya commented as he shunpoed even faster.

"AH!" exclaimed Ichigo, shocked at Byakuya's shunpo skills, even though it wasn't that surprising that Byakuya would be that fast. But, there's also no surprise of what Ichigo's reaction would be as he got pissed at how Byakuya just called him a 'fool' just then. With that, Ichigo shunpoed with all his might to catch up to the two.

* * *

Back to Hanatarou... He was lying on the floor panting.

"Why was I put into the race?" he asked himself.

Matsumoto raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Looks like we already have one contestant out!"

* * *

Back to the Race...

Ichigo shunpoed as much as he can, even enhancing his speed by concentrating his spiritual pressure until he finally caught up with Byakuya. But still, Yoruichi was still far from the both of them.

"So you managed to keep up, huh?" Byakuya said calmly, even while he was still using shunpo.

"Hah, do you really think I would let you off that easily for calling me a fool just then without getting back at you?" Ichigo replied with a smirk. "Then you must be insane."

"You're insane if you think you can actually surpass me," Byakuya said, as both of them increased their speed, they were still neck and neck.

"WOW WILL YOU GET A LOOK AT THIS!" Yachiru announced excitedly through the microphone. "BOTH BYAKKUN AND ICCHI ARE TIED WHILE BOOBIES* IS IN THE LEAD! WHILE ALL THE SLOWPOKES ARE ALL IN THE BACK, THE TENSION BETWEEN BYAKKUN, ICCHI, AND BOOBIES IS GETTING FIRED UP!"

Matsumoto slammed her hands excitedly on the desk. "Woah! Even that Soi Fon-taichou is lagging behind! And right behind her is Hitsugaya-taichou!

Are they really going to be last place?"

"Damn, I won't be able to win this way," Ichigo thought "Well; I guess desperate times call for desperate measures."

So in one swift motion, Ichigo put his hand over his face, while still using his shunpo, and then a dark spiritual pressure covered his face and when the spiritual pressure disappeared, there on Ichigo's face was his hollow mask. After just that sight, everyone was shocked that he would even summon his hollow mask for such a purpose, even Byakuya and Yoruichi.

"WOW! ICCHI JUST PULLED OUT THE BIG GUNS!" Yachiru shouted into the mic.

A few seats away from her, Nemu was eagerly taking down notes and constantly observing Ichigo's hollow mask.

"He really summoned his hollow mask," Yoruichi thought. A slow smirk spread on her lips. "Heh, this'll get interesting." And she started increasing her speed.

But suddenly, Ichigo flashed just right beside her. Yoruichi was stunned. She slightly glanced over with a shocked expression of how fast Ichigo can move with his mask on. In a blink of an eye, Ichigo quickly glanced over to see Yoruichi's shocked face. He smirked at her reaction to his speed, since she would always surpass him in speed without his hollow mask. Then, he swiftly flashed out of her sight and reappeared in front of the starting line and flashed right past it.

"WOW! LET'S SEE THAT AGAIN!" shouted Yachiru while turning to point at the enormous screen standing on top row of the audience seats.

And there on the screen was a slow motion recording of Ichigo's swift movement past the finish line.

"THIS IS GETTING EXCITING! ICCHI'S GONE WAY PAST BYAKKUN AND BOOBIES! COULD HE BE THE ONE TO TAKE FIRST PLACE IN

THE RACE?" Yachiru shouted with an excited tone in her voice.

Back to the other competitors...

"DAMN HIM! HOW DARE HE SURPASS YORUICHI-SAMA AND TREAT HER LIKE SHE WAS SOME SNAIL! I'LL MAKE SURE THAT SUBSTITUTE

PAYS FOR HIS INSOLENCE!" Soi Fon thought menacingly as she picked up her speed, since she was in 5th place.

"Damn it, I have to catch up or I'll lose!" Hitsugaya thought as he too, picked up his pace, since he was right behind Soi Fon in 6th place.

Back to the farther competitors...

"Che, this is a piece of cake," Ichigo thought. "I'll definitely win this race in no time."

It was the last lap of the race and Yoruichi and Byakuya were trying to catch up with Ichigo. They were both neck and neck, but Ichigo was still in the lead with one more lap to go. Yoruichi and Byakuya were starting to get closer to Ichigo by the second. With that, Ichigo increased his speed even more.

"Those slowpokes aren't gonna catch up with me," he thought, but then suddenly, Ichigo tripped and to make matters worse, Yoruichi and Byakuya were close by an inch and they were caught up in the trouble as well.

The cause of this predicament was that Hanatarou had collapsed on the floor from exhaustion. At the same time, the rest of the race participants caught up, but was immediately pulled into the mess and the pile of four shinigami had become a ball of shinigami thrown towards the finish line. They all came whirling through the air towards the finish line. But instead of flying right past the finish line, they all came into a pile with only a few inches between the pile of shinigami and the finish line.

"WAAA! SUGOI! EVERYONES ALL IN A HUGE DOG PILE!" Yachiru shouted as her eyes sparkled. "WHO WOULD'VE IMAGINED THAT? WAIT!

WHATS THAT?"

The audience began to eagerly poke their heads closer into the field, their eyes wide and opened.

From the pile of worn out, trembling, arm came out of the pile. It grabbed the finish line ribbon and pulled it down.

"UNBELIEVABLE! A HAND HAS JUST REACHED OUT FROM THE PILE FOR THE RIBBON AND PULLED THE FINISHING LINE! BUT WHO COULD THIS MYSTERIOUS PERSON BE?" Matsumoto said suddenly through the microphone as she stood from her seat in suspense.

And out from the pile of shinigami, came out Kurosaki Ichigo, with his mask off, with the piece of the ribbon in his right hand.

The crowd widened their eyes and then cheered. They jumped up from their seats and excitedly threw their fists in the air.

"WAAA! AND IT LOOKS LIKE KUROSAKI ICHIGO IS THE WINNER!" Matsumoto shouted.

The crowd continued to scream with excitement. Ichigo was crowned the winner of the race as the big screens showed a live broadcast of Ichigo confused.

"Huh? What did I do?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

"Congratulations, you have won the track and shunpo race," said Nanao as she walked up to Ichigo and on her hands was a red pillow with a gold medal with a red and white striped ribbon tied to it.

"I won?" Ichigo repeated. "I WON!" He took the medal honorably and held it up in the air.

As Ichigo proudly went up to the stage, he waved the crowd as they shouted with excitement with confetti raining down. However, in an instant, Ichigo's victory became a disaster.

"NII-SAN PLEASE DON'T COMMIT SEPPUKU*!" a voice shouted.

When Ichigo heard the noise, he turned quickly towards its direction and saw Rukia with a worried look. But when he turned toward the other direction, he saw Byakuya on the ground with a wakizashi* in his hands, close to his stomach.

"I-I can't live on anymore," Byakuya said weakly. "I don't deserve to be the head of the Kuchiki clan. I lost to that substitute shinigami twice already. (Note: Refer to the Soul Society Arc for recap.) I cannot live on anymore." He began to draw it closer to his stomach.

"NII-SAN DON'T!" as Rukia tried to snap Byakuya back to reality.

"Oy Byakuya! You don't need to get so upset about-" Ichigo said, but suddenly got interrupted by Rukia.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT ICHIGO!" she yelled.

"WHAT? MY FAULT?" he replied back, but was confused as to why Rukia would blame him of all people, after all, wasn't she suppose to be congratulating him?

"IF YOU HADN'T WON, NII-SAN WOULDN'T BE LIKE THIS! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT FOR WINNING!" Rukia snapped.

"WHAT?" Ichigo retorted back.

"Ne, don't worry Nii-san, you'll win in the next competition, ok?" Rukia said, trying to comfort her brother-in-law.

"You're right," Byakuya said as he stood from his place and walked away towards his sister-in law. "There are other ways I can redeem myself as well," and walked away with Rukia, but not before he gave a death glare to Ichigo.

"Geh, why did he glare at me?" Ichigo thought as he crossed his chest. "Is winning really a bad thing?"

"Oy Ichigo, that was pretty good, using your reiatsu and hollow mask to move that quick," Yoruichi complemented as she walked up to him.

"Thanks." Ichigo replied almost immediately. "FINALLY! Someone who compliments on my work" he thought. But...

"Oh, but don't take it as a complement or anything," she said immediately.

"Eh?" he said, trying to sort out what she just said in his head.

"I mean you surpassed me, so be prepared the next time you face me," she smirked evilly." All those tactics I used against you were just baby moves, next time; I'm going to show you my full potential." Yoruichi smirked evilly then walked away.

"ALRIGHT THEN!" Yachiru yelled. "THE NEXT COMPETITION IS GUNNA BE THE OBSTACLE RACE! SO ALL PARTICAPANTS PLEASE GET READY IN THE LOCKER ROOMS!" With that said, the announcements ended.

And with that, the track and shunpo race came to a close with a confused Ichigo wondering if winning was a good thing or bad thing.

**

* * *

Behind the Scenes!**

Ishida knocked on the locker room's door. "Oy Kurosaki, are you ready for the next event?" said Ishida. But there was no answer. "If you aren't going to answer, at least say something," he opened the door and found Ichigo sitting on the bench sulking with an ominous aura surrounding him.

"Geh!" Ishida said, his arms flying out." K-Kurosaki? Is that you?"

"Is winning wrong or right," Ichigo said blankly, staring at the gold medal he earned just a few minutes ago. "Am I right or am I wrong. Just what the hell is winning anyway?"

"I-Is he alright?" Ishida thought with a sweat drop.

* * *

Terms:

Boobies = If you've watched the sub version, Yachiru nicknamed Yoruichi 'Boobies' just like Matsumoto.

Seppuku = the Japanese version of suicide where people cut open their stomach.

Wakizashi = A Japanese short sword.

* * *

Ayane-san: Please review as always!

Ichigo: Yea... Review...

Ayane-san: -_-; Is he Kira number 2?

Saaya: He must be.


	3. Obstacle Course: ThreeLegged Race

Ayane-san: Gomenasai, everyone! It took us a while to get this chapter ready, but it's finally here! Sorry for the wait.

Renji: Che, it's about time you finished.

Ayane-san: Well excuse me for working my ass off getting it ready.

Renji: What the hell are you talking about? All you did was slack off.

Ayane-san: What?

Saaya: Now, now... Thank you very much for the reviews, by the way! And thanks for all the favorites as well!

* * *

As we return to the competition from Ichigo's little 'emo' moment, the festival has taken its course to the next competition. Everyone was getting ready for their own competitions, as well as Abarai Renji. He was suppose to be in the three-legged race, which is part of the obstacle race. As Renji was tying his shoe laces, the lieutenant of squad nine, Hisagi Shuuhei, went to greet him.

"Yo, Renji," Hisagi said.

"Ohayo, Hisagi-san," Renji said as he looked up and finished tying up his shoe laces.

"Renji, are you ready?" Hisagi asked.

"Yup, I'm totally prepared for this race." Renji said.

"So who are you getting partnered up with?" asked Hisagi.

"I'm getting partnered up with Kira," Renji said." And who're you racing with?"

At that very moment, Hisagi froze in embarrassment as he blushed furiously and looked down on the floor.

"Hisagi-san?" Renji said.

"W-Well…I'm actually getting partnered up with…"Hisagi said, hesitating to say the name of his partner as he toyed with his fingers a bit.

"Just spit it out would'ya," Renji said. "Who's your partner?" he asked once again.

"M-My partner is…"Hisagi tried to say as his voice started to drift off a bit. "Ra…" he said.

"Ra?" Renji repeated.

"Ra…" Hisagi said again.

"Ra?" Renji repeated again.

"R-Ra…" Hisagi said once again.

"JUST SAY IT WILL YA?" Renji shouted, fed up of this little game.

"RANGIKU-SAN!" Hisagi yelled with a blush across his face.

"E-Eh?" Renji said. "Th-That's it?"

"WHAT DO MEAN BY 'THAT'S IT'? I HAVE TO PAIR UP WITH HER!"Hisagi shouted in embarrassment.

"Che, so? What's wrong with that?" Renji said, brushing the answer off.

"W-What's wrong? Th-That's…" Hisagi said, his voice starting to drift off as his hair covered his eyes, but not the huge blush spread across his face.

For a few seconds, Renji didn't understand what had gotten his friend so worked up over Matsumoto being his partner. Then suddenly, it hit him. Realizing what got Hisagi so worked up, Renji said, "You like Rangiku-san, don't you?" he smirked.

"WH-WHAT? H-HOW DO YOU-" Hisagi was trying to say, but was cut off by Renji.

"Now listen here, Hisagi-san,"Renji whispered into Hisagi's left ear. "If you want to get a girl, you have to get romantic with them, but at the right moment."

"And how do I do that?" Hisagi asked.

Renji then started to whisper his advice into Hisagi's left ear. With each sentence said, Hisagi nodded in response and sometimes commented on if the idea would work or not. After the conversation was over, they both headed towards the field where the competition was suppose to be held. There they saw some of the teams getting ready, while the other teams either stood at there spots and wait for the race to begin or were tightening there ribbons around their ankles with their partner.

Renji then saw and met up with Kira so they can prepare for the race. As for Hisagi, he was trying to find Matsumoto in the crowd. After a few minutes of searching, he finally found her leaning on a tree and looking off into the distance. Once he saw her like that, a faint tint of red appeared across Hisagi's face.

"U-Um…Rangiku-san!" Hisagi called out to her. Matsumoto then turned toward the direction in which her name was called and saw Hisagi waving to her.

"AH! Ohayo! Shuuhei!" Matsumoto said as she waved back and ran toward his direction.

"S-So," Hisagi started." W-We're going to be partners in the race, huh?"

"Yup~" Matsumoto smiled cheerfully. "Well, please take care of me during the race,*"

"H-Hai!" Hisagi replied, standing up perfectly straight.

After a few minutes, the contestants were called towards the starting line. There, Hisagi could clearly spot some of the many teams that were participating like Zaraki-taichou and Kuchiki-taichou, Renji and Kira, and…YAMAMOTO-SOUTAICHOU?

_WHY IS THE SOUTAICHOU PARTICIPATING?_ Hisagi thought in shock. When he turned a bit to the left he saw next to him…Yasutora Sado, aka Chad. _AND WHY IS YAMAMOTO-SOUTAICHOU'S PARTNER A HUMAN?_

"Shuuhei," Matsumoto called, causing Hisagi to flinch. "They're about to start the race, let's tie our ankles together.

"S-Sure," Hisagi replied, going over to Matsumoto and helping to tie their ankles together.

Once they tied their ankles, Nanao came out with the same pistol she used in the last race.

"Alright minna-san, does everyone recall the rules to the race?" she said.

"Hai!" everyone replied.

_Yosh,_ Hisagi thought. _Now's my chance…_ He started to stretch his arm over Matsumoto bit by bit.

While doing so, Hisagi recalled what Renji had taught him before the race.

_"All right, first, when the chance is right and the girl doesn't notice it, try to put your arm around her." Renji whispered." That would get her attention and then she would look at you with an embaressed face saying, " Sh-Shuuhei, w-what are you doing?" like that." Renji said, trying to imitate the best Matsumoto voice he could to prove his point." Then," he continued. "Try to say something cool and reassuring like "What is it, Rangiku-san?" in a cool, husky tone like that. That should be able to start up a mood between you and get you closer." Renji finished._

_"Wow! Really?" Hisagi said. "Are you sure it'll work?" he asked._

_"Of course," Renji reassured." Chicks always fall for that cool, romantic stuff, like in those chick flicks."  
_

_"Fine, I'll try." Hisagi said in determination._

So now, we go back to the present situation. As Hisagi's arm got closer and closer, he managed to get his whole arm over Matsumoto's back.

_All right, now all I need to do is put my arm gently on her back, and I'll succeed._

But, what our dear ninth division fukutaichou didn't know was that as he was concentrating on charming Matsumoto, the race was a few seconds from starting.

"Then on the sound of the pistol, everyone will start," Nanao said. "On your mark…" she started, as everyone took their positions, but Hisagi wasn't paying attention.

"Get set…" Nanao continued.

_Almost there… _Hisagi thought, as his arm was barely an inch away from Matsumoto's back.

"GO!" Nanao yelled as she pulled the trigger and a 'BOOM' sounded.

With that one sound, everyone ran with all there might, trying to keep in sync with their partner's leg movement. As for Hisagi and Matsumoto, Hisagi was just about to connect his arm with Matsumoto's back, but Matsumoto had started running just when he was so close to succeeding. Unfortunately as well, since Hisagi wasn't paying any attention to the race, he was dragged along the ground as Matsumoto ran with full speed. As Hisagi was being dragged, tears started to flow from his eyes as he was being pulled.

_Ah..._ Hisagi thought, his "blissful and crying" face seems to contradict his words. _Fate… is so cruel…_

"Oy, Shuuhei!" Matsumoto yelled. "Try to keep up or we'll loose!" she yelled, keeping her eyes on where she was going.

* * *

Meanwhile, on Kenpachi and Byakuya's team, surprisingly they're running in such perfect sync and they were in the lead.

"Hmph," Byakuya said. "I don't want to lose because of someone like you, so you better keep up."

"Che," Kenpachi replied. "Don't worry about me, but I think you should worry about yourself and not try to make me lose."

* * *

At Renji and Kira's team, they are in second place, almost closing up the distance between them and Kenpachi and Byakuya.

"Let's keep it up, Kira!" Renji yelled. "If we keep up this pace, we should be able to pass them and make it to first place and win!"

"Alright, Abarai-kun," Kira said. "I'll keep doing my best." And so he began to run faster.

At Yamamoto and Chad's team, they are walking calmly around the field instead of running. With this type of calm atmosphere, Chad thought they would never win this way, but suddenly, Yamamoto paused.

"Sado-kun, we shall now begin the real race." Yamamoto said.

"What do you mean?" Chad asked.

"You can start us off, run first Sado-kun." He said.

Chad nodded, although with uncertainty.

As Chad started running first, in a matter of seconds, Yamamoto began to run at mock-speed. But since Yamamoto ran so fast, by the time he started to run, the ribbon tying both his and Chad's legs together, broke. Not only that, but because of the speed Yamamoto went, Chad couldn't catch up, and the result, he got dragged behind. After that moment, Nanao's glasses glinted. She took out a whistle and blew in it.

"Yamamoto-soutaichou and Yasutora Sado's team, DISQUALIFIED!"

"WHAT?" Yamamoto shouted in shock, his old eyes opening up. "Why?"

"You broke the ribbon binding both of your legs together. The rules state that you cannot break the ribbon binding you two, that is why you are disqualified." Nanao said while pushing up her glasses. "Now please leave the field."

And with that, the Yamamoto-soutaichou and Yasutora Sado team was disqualified. As for the other three teams left in the race, they are now neck to neck. The tension is heating up between the teams as they race towards the finishing line. The Kenpachi and Byakuya team are still in the lead, but coming behind are the Renji and Kira team along with the Hisagi and Matsumoto team, although Hisagi is still being dragged behind, not having the chance to stand up and run as well. Even with the extra weight though, Matsumoto is still keeping a fast pace and manages to catch up with the rest. After a few minutes, Matsumoto manages to get right next to Renji and Kira.

"Oy, just cause you're a girl Rangiku-san, doesn't mean we're gonna go easy on ya." Renji said.

"Oh don't worry," she smiled. "It wouldn't be any fun if you guys went easy on me anyway."

"By the way," Kira said." What happened to Hisagi-san?..." Kira pointed out to the-still crying-fukutaichou being dragged from behind.

"Ah don't worry about Shuuhei, he must be tired from running and wanted to take a little power nap." Matsumoto said.

_I really don't think that many tears are suppose to come out when your taking a nap…and why would you nap when your running._.. Both Renji and Kira thought with a sweatdrop.

After a few minutes later, everyone was head to head and almost close to the finishing line. As they closed in to the finishing line, their fighting spirit and determination for winning burned more and more. Matsumoto also managed to get pass Renji and Kira so she was second in the suddenly, some of that fighting spirit was put out when Matsumoto accidentally got her foot caught with Hisagi's and caused her to trip and also caused Hisagi to plummet his face into the ground. Just then, Renji and Kira managed to catch up and saw the incident.

"Rangiku-san, are you ok?" Kira asked.

"Yea, I'm fine." She replied reassuringly.

"Are you sure?" Renji asked.

"I'm positive," she replied." Now go on ahead, we'll catch up with you."

And with that, Renji and Kira ran off. Now there were only two teams left in the lead. Both teams started to close in on the finishing line. But suddenly, Renji's shoelaces came undone while they were running and caused him to trip. Of course, since Kira's leg was tied to Renji's, he fell down as well.

"Damn it…" Renji said as he tried to pick himself off from the ground." Oy, are you ok, Kira?"

"Yea, I think so…" Kira replied as he pushed himself up as well.

As both Renji and Kira tried to pick themselves off, Kenpachi and Byakuya managed to keep their steps in sync and ran past the finishing line.

"And the winners are Byakuya-taichou and Kenpachi-taichou!" Nanao exclaimed, clapping.

The crowd shouted in excitement, as the winners were announced. Along the way, Kira and Renji managed to get pback into the race and ran past the finish line as well. Although they came in second, they were satisfied at the least, since they managed to finish the race. Coming in last was Matsumoto with Hisagi still being dragged behind.

"So you managed to make it." Renji said.

"Yea," Matsumoto said. " But I came in last though."

"Well at least you finished." Kira said.

"True," Matsumoto said.

As Nanao and Nemu gave out the medal's to the winners from 1st place to 3rd place, the Shinigami Women's Association announced the second event.

"For the next competition, we shall continue from the Obstacle Course competition with the Borrowing Race event." Nanao announced through the microphone. "We hope to be seeing the participants for the next event." she finished.

And so there ends the first part of the obstacle course, and thus the borrowing race shall begin.

**

* * *

Behind The Scenes!**

"Oy, Hisagi-san," Renji called." Are you alrigh-GEH!" he said as he walked in the locker room.

"Huh, what's wrong Abarai-ku-GEH!" Kira said as well as he walked in the room as well.

What Renji and Kira saw that made them stop in their tracks, was the huge difference in the atmosphere in the locker room. There on the left side of the room was a bright, gleaming aura emanating from Yamamoto-soutaichou on the bench, while on the right side of the room, was a gloomy, dark, depressing aura emanating from Hisagi in the corner.

"Ah, even though I didn't win, I still feel happy that I got to participate in an event for once, even though I was disqualified," Yamamoto said to himself happily.

"Ah…my chance…my chance to get closer to Rangiku-san…was destroyed…" Hisagi said to himself depressingly.

"W-What is with this huge difference in the atmosphere?…" Renji and Kira thought with a sweatdrop.

* * *

Ayane-san: Please review~!

Hisagi: *Depressing aura still around him*

Ayane-san: Oy, is he gonna be alright? *sweatdrop*

Renji: Don't worry, he'll get over it eventually... I hope. *sweatdrop*

Saaya: Suggestions for the borrowing race are greatly welcomed!

Ayane-san & Saaya: Well, see you next time!


	4. Borrowing Race

Ayane-san: Gomenasai~ *sniffs* I got the chapter really late, but at least it's up!

Ichigo: It's about time, you lazy ass.

Ayane-san: SHUT UP! You're just mad because your not in this chapter! *sticks tongue out at him*

Ichigo: *vein pops up* What was that, you little—

Saaya: Just let it go orange head. Anyways, beware of a slight OOC Hitsugaya, and with a slight hint of HitsuHina. Enjoy! Oh, and do the disclaimer, orange head.

Ichigo: Stop calling me orange head! xNaraku No Hanax21 does not own Bleach, and they never will!

* * *

We're back to the Shinigami Sport's Festival! The next part of the obstacle race shall commence momentarily, but for now, the contestants are warming up for the next competition and firing up their spirits!

As we go to the arena, everyone is stretching out, since they need to run in this next event, the borrowing race! This time, Nanao shall be participating in this part of the race along with some other competitors that haven't had any screen time yet such as Hinamori Momo, Kurotsuchi Nemu, and etc.

Nanao had just finished tying up her shoelaces—so as not to fall—and was heading toward the starting line until she heard a certain, annoyingly, familiar voice.

"Do your best, Nanao-chan~!" it shouted, making Nanao stop dead in her tracks.

As she slowly turned her head toward the audience, with her quick eyes, she was able to spot out the exact person that called out her name (and the only person who would use that honorific with her name) who was none other than her own captain of the Eighth Division, Shunsui Kyoraku.

"I'm rooting for you~!" Kyoraku shouted to her, waving his hand wildly.

"Taichou, just what do you think you're doing here?" she shouted back in anger and embarrassment.

"Like I said, I'm cheering you on," he said calmly. "Is it wrong to go to a once-in-a- life-time event where you see your lieutenant participate in a fun competition?" he asked.

"Taichou… Oh just want an excuse to skip out and drink sake, don't you?" she asked furiously.

"Oh, why whatever are you talking about?" Kyoraku said skeptically, slowly averting his eyes away so as not to face his lieutenant's death glare.

She sighed. "Fine, I'll let this one slide," she said. "But I expect you to go straight back to your duties once the competition is over, got it?"

"Hai~" Kyoraku said with a relaxed expression and tone.

After she finished her scolding, Nanao went over to the starting point. Everyone got into their starting positions as Matsumoto came up with the starting gun, prepared for whatever was in store for them.

"All right then everyone! Remember that during the borrowing race, you are prohibited from using shunpo and any type of Hado or Kido spells to slow your opponents, alright? Well, on your mark…" Matsumoto started as everyone got ready to run at any second. "Get set…" she grinned. "GO!" And the bullet flew into the air with a big BANG.

Everyone then ran as fast as possible toward the post where the letters for each specific person hung from a string. To no surprise, Nemu managed to get ahead of everyone and managed to be the first to get her letter. She took the letter from the string and opened it to read the content. The letter said, 'Something most important to you.' As she finished reading, she ran off at max speed to somewhere unknown to retrieve her "Important something."

_I wonder what I'm going to bring, _Nanao thought, but then re-focused her attention to the race.

The next person to retrieve a letter was Hinamori. She grabbed the letter from the post and opened it to read the contents. When she finished, she nodded with determination and ran off toward the audience.

_Eh? Why is Hinamori running over here? _Hitsugaya thought as he sat at the front row of the audience stand.

"Shiro-chan! Come over here, quick!" Hinamori shouted as she waved her hand toward his direction.

"Eh?" Hitsugaya said, wondering what might have happened to make Hinamori come over.

"Hurry up, Shiro-chan!" Hinamori said as she quickly grabbed his hand and dragged him off.

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou!" He spat, but was also confused as to why she would run out to get him like this.

_C-Could it be? _Hitsugaya exclaimed in his head as his eyes started to widen. _D-Did the letter H-Hinamori got…did it say your lover on it? S-S-S-S-S-So that means...she…she thinks of me as not a friend, BUT AS A LOVER?_ The very thought not only made his eyes widened with shock, but also started to emit a hopeful expression in them.

When Hinamori returned to the starting line, Matsumoto came up to congratulate her on being in first place.

"A-Arigatou, Rangiku-san," Hinamori said shyly.

"Ho~ What did your letter say, Hinamori?" Matsumoto asked with a smirk. "And why did it involve my taichou~?" she added.

"U-Um…well…you see… I chose Shiro-chan because there were no other person than him that would be my absolute…" Hinamori exclaimed cheerfully with a pause as everyone stared at her with anticipation, but Hitsugaya was confident that she would definitely say 'lover' so he didn't stare with suspense as everyone else did. But…unfortunately, fate was not on the white-haired captain's side.

"…best friend!" Hinamori finished, throwing her arms in the air.

At that exact moment, when Hinamori finished her sentence, Hitsugaya said, "Eh?"

"The letter had said, 'your very best friend in the whole world' so I chose Shiro-chan cause he's my very best friend in the whole world," Hinamori said shyly again as she played with her fingers a little.

Everyone then stared at Hinamori for a moment and then turned toward Hitsugaya to see a stunned and shocked expression plastered on his face with a hint of disappointment. Then they all started to burst out in laughs and giggles at Hitsugaya, but he himself became flushed with embarrassment. Hinamori was a bit confused of the sudden laughter and thought that she had said something strange.

"Eh? Why is everybody laughing, Shiro-chan?" she asked the flushed captain. "Shiro-chan? Is something wrong?"

"NO!" he shouted. "J-Just leave me alone." he said as he started to stomp away in anger and embarrassment.

"I wonder what's gotten into Shiro-chan?" she said to herself as she cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Gyahahahaha~ I-I c-can't b-believe T-Taichou would a-actually think…pfft…hahahaha!" Matsumoto attempted to say between her laughs, but the thought of seeing her captain so dumbfounded with misunderstanding that it made her broke out in more laughs.

"Matsumoto." A certain familiar voice angrily said.

"Ahahahaha… Nani, T-Taichou?" Matsumoto tried to say through her laughs. But then she realized something and stopped all her laughter immediately. _Eh? Taichou? _she thought and slowly looked up from the ground where she rolled around laughing hysterically a few minutes ago to find Hitsugaya glaring down at her.

"After this is all over," he began. "THREE TIMES THE PAPERWORK, NO EXCUSES OR BREAKS!"

"EEHHH!" Matsumoto shouted out in both disappointment and shock.

As everyone finished their laughing and giggling, they managed to see that Nanao got her letter and it read 'the person you care for the most.' Nanao flushed at the sentence as she quickly refolded the letter and went off toward the audience as like Hinamori had done a moment ago. She then quickly grabbed a certain person from the audience and began to run back with them. As she finally got back to the starting point, she passed the note to Matsumoto who read the phrase.

"Ok, Nanao-chan~ Who is the person you care for the most?" Matsumoto smiled.

"This person," she pointed toward the person next to her, who was none other than her own captain, Kyoraku.

"Aww~ Nanao-chan, I'm the person you care for the most?" Kyoraku said happily.

"Yes, because I always have to get you back on your duties and because of that, I don't have anyone else that I actually have to care for," Nanao said with a glare and glint from her glasses.

"Ara~ That's mean…" Kyoraku said with a sweat drop.

"Anyways, CONGRATS, NANAO-CHAN~! You're in second place!" Matsumoto cheered as she walked toward the winner circle, leaving Kyoraku to kind of escort her there. _By the way, what ever happened to Nemu? _Matsumoto added to herself.

At that sudden remark, Nemu surprisingly fell from above and landed on her feet gracefully, but also damaging the ground under her, causing a little miniature crater.

"GYA! NEMU!" Mastumoto exclaimed in shock at the sudden impact to the ground and the surprise appearance.

"I've returned with the item that is most important to me," Nemu said, expressionless.

"O-oh, so what is it?" Matsumoto asked with a seat drop.

"This," Nanao took out and item from behind her, but it was too horrifyingly weird that it was censored.

"HOW IS THAT THING IMPORTANT TO YOU?" Matsumoto shouted in disbelief and disgust.

"It's—"

"Nevermind! You don't need to explain," she cut Nemu off as she was almost about to explain why that horrifying thing was important to the strange girl.

"Y-You at least made it into third, Nemu," Matsumoto said with her left eye twitching and a sweat drop.

Nemu then put away the strange item and went towards the winner circle as well. Hinamori, Nanao, and Nemu were all congratulated and received their medals at the little ceremony. Kyoraku had leaned on the wall smiling as Nanao waved toward the audience with a kind smile.

He sighed dreamily. "Wish she would give me one of those once in a while," he mumbled softly.

"Oh, Taichou," Nanao called to Kyoraku.

"Hmm... Nani?" Kyoraku looked up to ask.

"Don't forget what I said. Right after this ceremony is over, you're going straight back to work, got it?" she said seriously.

"Nanao-chan is so mean," he wailed childishly.

"If you're not strict with someone, they'll never take you seriously," Nanao said while pushing up her glasses with a glint.

With that ends the borrowing race and the end of the obstacle course part of the sports festival. The next competition shall be the bread-eating contest and will continue next time!

* * *

**Behind The Scenes**

Matsumoto had finished up her part of the cleaning for the last ceremony and had started heading back to the tenth division barracks office to take a little nap. As she came to the front of the door to the office, she yawned and slid open the door.

"Ne, Taich—Eh?" Matsumoto saw something very strange.

There, on her captain's desk, was Hitsugaya plucking flower petals one by one while mumbling something under his breath. She thought he had mumbled 'she loves me' and 'she loves me not.' This was starting to creep her out a bit as she slowly entered the room, closing the door behind her, and slowly approached Hitsugaya cautiously.

"U-Um, Taichou?" Matsumoto said as she went a bit closer, but as she did, she saw a bunch of flower petals all over and around Hitsugaya's desk.

"She loves me…she loves me not?" Hitsugaya kept mumbling with no expression as he kept plucking each petal of the current flower in his hand, not taking any notice to Matsumoto.

_Is he really that depressed about his position in Hinamori's life?_

That remains as a mystery to Matsumoto up until today.

* * *

Ayane-san: Who knows how long it will take, BUT WE SHALL GET ANOTHER CHAPTER UP SOON ENOUGH! But please review in the meantime.

Hitsugaya: She loves me... *plucks* She loves me not... *pluck*

Ayane-san: Why are we having so many emo people? *sweatdrop*

Saaya: Fear not Hitsugaya. *puts a hand on shoulder* You're still friends! Better than being acquaintances!

Hitsugaya: D-Don't say anymore...


	5. Bread Eating Contest

Ayane-san: Thank you for waiting, everyone! Next chappy is up and ready to go!

Hitsugaya: Why am I in this one?

Ayane-san: Because you need to get your ass off of that depression of yours, we can't have too many emo people in these things you know.

Hitsugaya: G-Geh...

Ayane-san: Now do the disclaimer, shorty.

Hitsugaya: I'M NOT SHORT!

Saaya: Hitsugaya, my doctor said I'll be short for the rest of my life. So don't worry about it.

Hitsugaya: That's not exactly helping me. **These two do not own Bleach and they never will.**

* * *

Welcome back to the Shinigami Sports Festival! It is now time for the bread-eating contest to commence. But this time, Hitsugaya-taichou will be participating surprisingly, and shortly after what happened to him in the last contest. Anyway, we move on to the location of the white-haired taichou. Hitsugaya had just finished tying his shoe laces and was walking to through the barracks to the track field until a certain big chested fukuchou came up from behind him, who was none other than Matsumoto.

"Ohayo, Taichou~" she sang. "Are you really participating in the bread eating contest?" she asked.

"Of course I am," he replied with an annoyed expression plastered on his face. "I'm not a coward to accept a challenge. It would tarnish my reputation as a taichou. Besides, it'll help me clear my head." Hitsugaya said as calmly as possible.

"Eh~~ are you still upset about that thing with Hinamori?" Matsumoto asked with a slight smirk, teasing him childishly.

"That isn't any of your business now is it?" Hitsugaya said glaring at her, annoyed at the topic his lazy fukutaichou brought up.

"G-Gomenasai…" she said, terrified by the cold look Hitsugaya was giving her.

"Anyway, I'm on my way towards the field, so can you please not get in my way," Hitsugaya bluntly stated.

"What are you talking about, Taichou?" Matsumoto asked. "I'm in the competition too, so I'm supposed to be headed to where you're going," she smiled.

"What?" Hitsugaya said with a blank stare, trying to comprehend what Matsumoto had just said.

"See you on the field, taichou!" Matsumoto said before taking off in full speed towards the track field.

"_Oh great_," Hitsugaya thought with sarcasm as he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

Hitsugaya had arrived at the track field after a while and saw a whole crowd of people in the audience once he walked in. As he looked around, he spotted Matsumoto, much to his horror, and many other familiar faces in the field. After a while, the announcement called for the contestants to get to the starting line for the race will begin shortly. He was walking towards the starting line, until he heard a familiar giggle that he sure didn't expect to hear.

"HEY WHITEY!" the chippy voiced called as Hitsugaya felt a sudden weight on his back. When he looked back, he saw the face of non other than the fukutaichou of the Eleventh Division, Kusajishii Yachiru.

"Kusajishi!" Hitsugaya said with a twing of surprise. "Why are you here? I thought you were the judge," he said.

"What? Did you think I would just sit there and watch everyone else have fun? NOT A CHANCE!" Yachiru shouted as she finally got off Hitsugaya's back and raan towards the starting line as well.

He just knew something bad is going to happen to him in this race. But Hitsugaya reluctantly walked towards the destination as well, he knew there was going to be no turning back once he agreed. When everyone was there and accounted for, Nemu walked towards the track field and announced the rules.

"The goal of this race is to run over to the post at where the bread for each person is hung and grab the bread with your mouth, not your hands, and run to the finish line," she explained. "The rules are that no one is allowed to use shunpo, kido, hado, and their zanpakutou. If any of these rules are violated, you will be disqualified, is that understood?" Nemu asked in a monotone voice

Everyone nodded in confirmation.

"Then on the sound of the gun, you'll start," Nemu said with a monotone voice." One your mark," she said as everyone got into their running positions. "Get set," as Nemu pulled out a bazooka and faced it towards the sky.

"WHY ARE WE USING A BAZOOKA?" Hitsugaya shouted in shock.

"Go." Nemu pulled the trigger and the missile flew towards the the sky and exploded with a 'boom'. Everyone then ran like a speeding bullet train, even without using shunpo.

Matsumoto was head first and was already near the post. With a huge jump, she managed to get a bite out of her bread and continued running towards the finish line. But what she didn't notice, was that she wasn't the only thing that jumped. Almost all of the men in the audience got a nosebleed rush, not from Matsumoto herself, but what happened to her chest when she jumped, if you know what I mean. Hitsugaya looked like he was going to hurl, but kept his focus on where he's running. He was the second to get near the post.

"And Matsumoto gains the advantage, but wait, here comes Hitsugaya-taichou of the Tenth Division!" Nanao announced through the microphone.

"_Now's my chance to show that I'm not as weak as I look,_" Hitsugaya thought with a smirk plastered on his face.

As Hitsugaya got near to the point to where he calculated that he could bite the bread, he jumped. Hitsugaya looked like he was going to make it! Not only did he jump at the right time and angle he was so close to the bread that hung from the post! Well…almost close and it **looked **like he was going to make, unfortunately he didn't. Hitsugaya was only an inch away from the bread until he missed and fell flat on his face to the ground.

Hitsugaya got a shaking hand to the ground and pulled his face up from the ground. His face was red from both the embarrassment and impact from the fall. He got up and once again tried to jump and take a bite out of the bread. But yet again, he was still an inch away from the bread that hung mockingly there. Hitsugaya kept on jumping, determined to get a bite out of the damn bread. As he kept jumping to bite the bread, incoming from behind was Yachiru. As she ran with all her might, Yachiru managed to jump with full force and **actually** bit the bread!

Hitsugaya was dumbfounded. That fukutaichou was like seven inches smaller than him and yet she could jump higher than him and get a bite out of the bread? That was rather pathetic and ironic.

As she landed on her feet and ran toward the finish line, Yachiru swallowed the bread and look back to Hitsugaya, still looking dumbfounded.

"Bye, bye, Whitey!~" Yachiru smiled at him and giggled as she looked ahead again and continued running.

Now he was pissed. How can a little girl who was seven inches smaller than him get a bite out of a piece of damn bread and he couldn't? Hitsugaya now kept repeatedly jumping up to try and reach that damn bread with his mouth, and with each time he missed, he got even more aggravated. The audience was watching Hitsugaya's attempts at the bread. They were looking like they were going to burst out laughing any moment, but knew that if they did, the little taichou will have their heads. As Hitsugaya kept on jumping, everyone else was passing him, managing to get a quick bite out of their breads and taking a quick glance at him while they were at it. As for the females in the audience, he was grabbing an unnecessary attention from the female shinigamis in the audience. They were somewhat blushing a bit and looked like they were adoring something cute. What Hitsugaya didn't know was that they were adoring him.

"Kya~! Hitsugaya-taichou looks so KAWAII!" one of them said as they gazed upon Hitsugaya's frustrated face.

"I KNOW RIGHT! He's so cute when he's flustered like that and jumping up and down!" said another one of the females.

As one of the women had said, Hitsugaya had become flustered from the exhaustion and the embarrassment of not being able to jump high enough to take a bite out of the bread. He was really annoyed at how they were calling him _cute _and wanted to prove them wrong. While Hitsugaya kept jumping, Matsumoto managed to come into first place and coming from behind in second was Yachiru. After they got their medals, Matsumoto sat on one of the benches and took a drink out of her water bottle. As she glanced up to look at the audience, Matsumoto almost spat out her water at the sight she had just seen. The females in the audience were gazing at Hitsugaya with adornment and had this really moe* aura surrounding them. Matsumoto was dumbfounded to know that her taichou actually got adoring glances from women.

"W-Why are they all staring at taichou with moe in their eyes?" Matsumoto mumbled to herself.

"Looks like Whitey is really popular with the girls~!" Yachiru giggled.

"President," Matsumoto noticed. "Looks like he is since he's acting like some little kid trying to get his toy back…pfft…if you think about it…IT REALLY IS HILARIOUS HOW HE'S ACTING LIKE A GRADE SCHOOLER!" Matsumoto laughed.

Matsumoto had started laughing very hard as she thought about it. But a certain somebody also heard that sentence, and he didn't look happy. Hitsugaya then stopped his idiotic attempts and continued running and ran past the finish line. He didn't stop to get an award or medal or anything like that, oh no, he went towards the bench where Matsumoto is laughing her ass off at him. As he stood right next to her, Matsumoto felt a familiar presence next to her. She cracked an eye open to see who it was and none other than a very, very pissed Hitsugaya standing there.

"Ohayo, Taichou!" Matsumoto said without a care as she kept on laughing, for a moment. After a second of comprehending who she just saw next to her, she immediately stopped her laughing spree and looked up at a furious Hitsugaya.

"Matsumoto," he said with anger in his voic. He was trembling, not from his useless attempts of grabbing the bread, but from maximum fury. "TRIPLE THE PAPERWORK AND NO SAKE!" Hitsugaya yelled at the top of his voice.

"EEEHHHH?" Matsumoto shouted in disappointment.

So thus ends the bread eating contest as well as the last part of the obstacle race. Next time, we're going to see our contestants swim in bathing suits, drown, and have just plain crack humor happen. The next competition is swimming! See you then!

* * *

**Behind The Scenes!**

Hinamori was walking through the Tenth Division barracks. She wanted to talk to Hitsugaya about something and congratulate him on completing the race. As she came upon his office Hinamori knocked on the door.

"Shiro-chan, it's Hinamori," she said. "I want to congratulate you on—SHIRO-CHAN?" Hinamori said shocked at what she saw. Hitsugaya was wearing stilts and looked like he was the size of Isane-fukuchou! Only a bit taller though.

"Heh, now I don't need to jump up for things like in that race," Hitsugaya said with pride. "Now no one will call me cute and see as something cute when I try to jump for things!" he said as he started walking past Hinamori and to the book shelf to a document.

"See, perfectly tall enough to get things without jumping," Hitsugaya said as he tried to reach for the other document on the second top shelf. Unfortunately, the stilts weren't tall enough to reach up to the fourth shelf and thus having Hitsugaya somewhat jump to try and reach the sixth shelf with the binder he needed. But when he tried to take a huge leap up, he managed to get the binder. But unfortunately loos his balance and stumble on the stilts.

"I got i—AAHHH!" Hitsugaya tried to say but fell flat on his face as he lost his balance. With a 'bam' the floor, Hitsugaya's face was planted to the floor of his office.

"Shiro-chan, are you ok?" Hinamori said in concern. "_Looks like no matter what he does, he still needs to jump for things_," Hinamori thought with a sweat drop.

"I…hate…being…short…" Hitsugaya muttered with anger with his face still on the floor.

* * *

Moe*= A Japanese slang that means "a rarefied pseudo-love for certain fictional characters (in anime, manga and the likes).

Ayane-san: THANKS FOR READING! Please review and stay tuned for the next chapter.

Hitsugaya: Can you not yell in my ear? *Hitsugaya has bandages on face and arm.*

Ayane-san: Can you not move around? Who's fault is it that I have to wrap you in bandages cause you got injuries?

Hitsugaya: Shut up!

Ayane-san: *WHACK* Again, please review to help Hitsugaya pay the hospital bills that I'm going to charge him with.

Saaya: ...My daddy said sea slugs make you grow.

Ayane-san & Hitsugaya: ...What does that have to do with anything we're talking about...?


End file.
